STOLEN MONEY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 5 July 1923, Page 5

STOLEN MONEY.

— '>,-— POSTAL PACKAGES ROBBED. THEFTS CONTINUE FOR FIBE YEARS. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Cii-itioTCii^iv-Ci—, «j uiy <±. At the _ Oiice" Coo.rt to-aay. j.v__tin Matthew Holland was charged on tive counts vvitn the thett- of postal pac_lges while he was enijjlojea as a postal atticer. Detective Dickerdike said the offences alleged covered a period of five years, commencing -when accused was at the Duvauehelies post office • and not terminating till trie day of his arrest at Darfield. ■ In all seven hundred letters, telegrams, and other postal packagesl were stolen in that period. Most of the charges related to Darfield. It was difficult to determine how much money had been stolen from packages. The detective said that on June 23, in company with Mr. Broadfoot, - chief postmaster at Christchurch, he made inquiries at Darfield regarding missing letters and interviewed accused. Accused admitted several offences and made a , statement. Witness then arrested him and charged him with the offences. Afterwards he searched accused's room and found 683 letters and telegrams, all of which he had detained and some of which he had opened. Accused, in his statement, said he had destroyed two or three files. He said he had been drinking, but he did not say he had been in any trouble. Mr. Broa_foot, chief postmaster, said there was an impression, that a large number of letters had been stolen, but that was not the case. Most of the documents taken were official departmental correspondence addressed to the postmasters. The theft of ordinary letters' was not _o great as had been the case on some previous occasions. He made this statement to reassure the public. Accused nleaded guilty and was com-' mitetd to the Supreme Court for sentence.